US - Iran Flare Up

Iranian boats 'tried to intercept British tanker'

Iranian boats 'tried to intercept British tanker'
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Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionThe HMS Montrose is reported to have driven off the Iranian boats
Iranian boats tried to impede a British oil tanker near the Gulf - before being driven off by a Royal Navy ship, the Ministry of Defence has said.

HMS Montrose moved between the three boats and the tanker British Heritage before issuing verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, a spokesman said.

He described the Iranians' actions as "contrary to international law".

Iran had threatened to retaliate for the seizure of one of its own tankers, but denied any attempted seizure.

According to reports in US media, quoting US officials, boats believed to belong to Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) approached the British Heritage tanker and tried to bring it to a halt as it was moving out of the Gulf into the Strait of Hormuz.

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Guns on HMS Montrose, the British frigate escorting the tanker, were reportedly trained on the Iranian boats as they were ordered to back off. They heeded the warning and no shots were fired.

A UK government spokesman said: "Contrary to international law, three Iranian vessels attempted to impede the passage of a commercial vessel, British Heritage, through the Strait of Hormuz.

"We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region."

Quoting the public relations office of the IRGC's Navy, the Fars news agency said, in a tweet, the IRGC "denies claims by American sources" that it tried to seize British Heritage.

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the UK was just trying "to create tension".

"They make such claims to create tension, yet these claims are worthless and they have made many such claims," Mr Zarif said, according to Fars.
 
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I don't understand exactly what Iran wants.iran and American war will be disastrous for pakistan as well.it is better for these two countries to de escalate.sanctions on Iran is hurting Iran badly specially oil.foreign companies don't want to do business with Iran just because of sanctions.overall a very complicated situation.i remember zarif visit to Pakistan months ago.he wanted to reset ties between the two countries.iran basically don't want Pakistan to join arab camp.it wants relations with both India and pakistan.we have slightly changed our policy towards Iran after Iranian general threat to attack pakistan.
 
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UPDATED: USS Boxer Downs Iranian Drone in ‘Defensive Action’ - USNI News

UPDATED: USS Boxer Downs Iranian Drone in ‘Defensive Action’
By: Sam LaGrone

July 18, 2019 4:00 PM • Updated: July 18, 2019 8:45 PM

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USS Boxer (LHD-4) transits the Pacific Ocean. Boxer in March 2019. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated with additional details on the downing of the Iranian drone.

Amphibious warship USS Boxer (LHD-4) took down an Iranian drone that U.S. officials say threatened the ship as it entered the Persian Gulf on Thursday.

At about 10 a.m. local time, Boxer was transiting Strait of Hormuz when an Iranian fixed-wing drone approached the ship, a defense official told USNI News.

“A fixed-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS) approached Boxer and closed within a threatening range. The ship took defensive action against the UAS to ensure the safety of the ship and its crew,” a Pentagon spokesman said in a Thursday afternoon statement provided to USNI News.

The statement did not detail the method in which Boxer downed the drone. The ship is armed with RIM-7 Sea Sparrow short-range anti-ship missiles, and the RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) and Phalanx CIWS point defense weapons systems. Additionally, the Navy and the Marine Corps have begun to field a wide variety of non-kinetic systems capable of downing a drone by other means.

Photographs released by the Navy in January, show Marines operating the MRZR-mounted, anti-UAS Marine Air Defense Integrated System on the deck of Kearsarge in January as part of the ship’s force protection regime as it transited the Suez Canal. USNI News understands the 11th MEU also deployed with the system and that it’s the likely weapon that was used to splash the Iranian drone.

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U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Fernando Anzaldua III, an assistant gunner, and Cpl. Jordan Gillett, a gunner with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit provide security to their light marine air defense integrated system aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) as it passes the Mubarak Peace Bridge in the Suez Canal. US Marine Corps Photo

Military.com reported that MADIS was used in the engagement. In March, USNI News reported that the Marines were experimenting with the capability before developing a version to deploy with Marine JLTVs.

“The MADIS system connects mature radars, passive detection sensors, optics and jammers – and soon a kinetic kill option will be integrated in, likely a small drone that could shoot down another small drone,” reported USNI News.

News of the intercept first came from a press event at the White House in which President Donald Trump told reporters of the downing of the Iranian drone.

“This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions against vessels operating in international waters,” Trump told reporters in the White House on Thursday afternoon.

The downing of the Iranian drone comes as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy announced they had seized a UAE-owned, Panamanian-flagged tanker and follows reports of Iranian harassment of a British owned tanker last week.

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U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Fernando Anzaldua III, an assistant gunner, and Cpl. Jordan Gillett, a gunner with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, complete system checks on their light marine air defense integrated system aboard USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) as it transits the Suez Canal. US Marine Corps Photo

Boxer has been operating in U.S. Central Command since mid-June with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit and two other amphibious warships.

The ARG includes Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD-4), San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS John P. Murtha (LPD-26) and Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD-49).

The ARG left San Diego, Calif., on May 1 on a scheduled deployment. In addition to Boxer, the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has been patrolling in the Gulf of Oman and the North Arabian Sea since mid-May.

The presence of large fixed-wing Iranian drones near the Persian Gulf is not new, with carriers and other U.S. warships rotating through the region having interactions with them in recent years. However, the drones typically keep their distance, making sure the U.S. ships see them but not coming close enough to where ships have had to shoot them down.
 
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Indian Warships To Stay Longer In Persian Gulf, But Won't Join US Bloc

Indian navy, which has traditionally operated closer to home waters, has over past year or so begun deployments across the Indian Ocean.

All India | Reuters | Updated: July 18, 2019 21:56 IST
i7fj6jao_ins-chennai-gulf-twitter-_625x300_21_June_19.jpg

The INS Chennai and INS Sunanya are among the warships deployed by the Navy in the Gulf.

New Delhi: Indian warships escorting merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf will remain deployed for the longer term, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said, as tensions between Iran and Western powers rise.

But the two ships, backed by surveillance aircraft, will not be part of a military coalition that the United States is assembling to safeguard the waters off Iran near the Straits of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil moves, the two officials said.

Since June following attacks on tankers that the United States blamed on Iran and Iran-aligned fighters, a charged Tehran denies, the navy ships have been escorting Indian-flagged vessels in and out of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

"This is not going to stop, the situation being what it is, we will be there for the foreseeable future," said an official with knowledge of naval deployments.

The Indian Navy, which has traditionally operated closer to home waters, has over past year or so begun deployments across the Indian Ocean stretching from the Malacca Strait in Southeast Asia to waters off Africa, largely as a response to China's expanding weight across the region.

But the maritime operation in the Gulf is also to heed U.S. President Donald Trump's call that major buyers of Middle East oil protect their own tankers, a second official with knowledge of India's policy on the region said.

The issue figured during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Trump on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Japan last month and PM Modi told the U.S. leader he had sent ships to protect Indian-flagged vessels, the official said.

Trump has been putting pressure on European and Asian allies to shoulder security responsibilities and not depend on the United States alone.

Deepening regional tensions, Iran said on Thursday it had seized a foreign tanker smuggling fuel in the Gulf, and the U.S. military commander in the region said the United States would work "aggressively" to ensure free passage of vessels.

REFUELLING

On Friday, U.S. officials will speak to members of the Washington diplomatic corps about the new initiative to promote freedom of navigation and maritime security around the Strait of Hormuz, the State Department said.

New Delhi will not be formally joining such a force, in large measure because that would pit it directly against Iran, with which it has had historical political and energy ties. It also has never been part of foreign military task forces, preferring to work under the United Nations flag instead, the first official said.

India is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil after China.

"We will be carrying out the force protection measures on our own for Indian-flagged vessels. So far, nearly two dozen ships have been provided security," the official said.

But there is coordination with the U.S. military with which India has a logistics support agreement, the official said.

Indian naval ships operating in the Gulf have been fuelled by the large fleet of U.S. tankers and such assistance will remain because of the indefinite length of operation, the official said.

There have been no incidents so far involving Indian commercial shipping in the vital waterways.

"I surmise in a conflict we will be neutral. We will be drawn into it only if our shipping is hit," said former naval officer Abhijit Singh, who heads the Maritime Policy Initiative think-tank at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.

Singh said Indian navy ships had sailed in the Persian Gulf earlier though never exclusively to escort merchant marine.

About 15 Indian ships - destroyers, frigates, corvettes and large patrol vessels - are operating at the entry and exit points of the Indian Ocean, stretching from the Malacca Strait, through which much of China's trade and fuel is routed, to the Gulf of Aden in the west.

Indian Warships To Stay Longer In Persian Gulf, But Won't Join US Bloc
 
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Gautam said:
Indian Warships To Stay Longer In Persian Gulf, But Won't Join US Bloc

Indian navy, which has traditionally operated closer to home waters, has over past year or so begun deployments across the Indian Ocean.

All India | Reuters | Updated: July 18, 2019 21:56 IST
i7fj6jao_ins-chennai-gulf-twitter-_625x300_21_June_19.jpg

The INS Chennai and INS Sunanya are among the warships deployed by the Navy in the Gulf.

New Delhi: Indian warships escorting merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf will remain deployed for the longer term, officials with direct knowledge of the matter said, as tensions between Iran and Western powers rise.

But the two ships, backed by surveillance aircraft, will not be part of a military coalition that the United States is assembling to safeguard the waters off Iran near the Straits of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil moves, the two officials said.

Since June following attacks on tankers that the United States blamed on Iran and Iran-aligned fighters, a charged Tehran denies, the navy ships have been escorting Indian-flagged vessels in and out of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

"This is not going to stop, the situation being what it is, we will be there for the foreseeable future," said an official with knowledge of naval deployments.

The Indian Navy, which has traditionally operated closer to home waters, has over past year or so begun deployments across the Indian Ocean stretching from the Malacca Strait in Southeast Asia to waters off Africa, largely as a response to China's expanding weight across the region.

But the maritime operation in the Gulf is also to heed U.S. President Donald Trump's call that major buyers of Middle East oil protect their own tankers, a second official with knowledge of India's policy on the region said.

The issue figured during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Trump on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Japan last month and PM Modi told the U.S. leader he had sent ships to protect Indian-flagged vessels, the official said.

Trump has been putting pressure on European and Asian allies to shoulder security responsibilities and not depend on the United States alone.

Deepening regional tensions, Iran said on Thursday it had seized a foreign tanker smuggling fuel in the Gulf, and the U.S. military commander in the region said the United States would work "aggressively" to ensure free passage of vessels.

REFUELLING

On Friday, U.S. officials will speak to members of the Washington diplomatic corps about the new initiative to promote freedom of navigation and maritime security around the Strait of Hormuz, the State Department said.

New Delhi will not be formally joining such a force, in large measure because that would pit it directly against Iran, with which it has had historical political and energy ties. It also has never been part of foreign military task forces, preferring to work under the United Nations flag instead, the first official said.

India is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil after China.

"We will be carrying out the force protection measures on our own for Indian-flagged vessels. So far, nearly two dozen ships have been provided security," the official said.

But there is coordination with the U.S. military with which India has a logistics support agreement, the official said.

Indian naval ships operating in the Gulf have been fuelled by the large fleet of U.S. tankers and such assistance will remain because of the indefinite length of operation, the official said.

There have been no incidents so far involving Indian commercial shipping in the vital waterways.

"I surmise in a conflict we will be neutral. We will be drawn into it only if our shipping is hit," said former naval officer Abhijit Singh, who heads the Maritime Policy Initiative think-tank at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.

Singh said Indian navy ships had sailed in the Persian Gulf earlier though never exclusively to escort merchant marine.

About 15 Indian ships - destroyers, frigates, corvettes and large patrol vessels - are operating at the entry and exit points of the Indian Ocean, stretching from the Malacca Strait, through which much of China's trade and fuel is routed, to the Gulf of Aden in the west.

Indian Warships To Stay Longer In Persian Gulf, But Won't Join US Bloc
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Wise move, they have started seizing random tankers.
'Fuel-smuggling' tanker seized by Iran
 
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The ship had offloaded some petro chemicals in India and was headed towards a Saudi Port. It has 23 crew, i just hope that no Indians are a part of crew, and if they are, they are immediately released.
 
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Royal Marines and Gibraltar seize ship suspected of taking Iranian oil to Syria

Royal Marines and Gibraltar seize ship suspected of taking Iranian oil to Syria
Iran summons UK ambassador over what it calls ‘the illegal seizure of an Iranian oil tanker’

Dan Sabbagh

Thu 4 Jul 2019 16.38 BST

First published on Thu 4 Jul 2019 09.01 BST

An image issued by the Ministry of Defence of the supertanker Grace 1, believed to be carrying 2m barrels of crude oil. Photograph: MoD/PA
A detachment of nearly 30 Royal Marines and Gibraltarian police have dramatically seized a supertanker suspected of carrying Iranian oil to Syria in what the UK said was a breach of EU sanctions against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

The Foreign Office praised “firm action by the Gibraltarian authorities” in intercepting the vessel, called Grace 1, although Spain said Gibraltar had acted in response to a request made first by the US to the UK.

The exact ownership of Grace 1 was not immediately known, but Iran said on Thursday afternoon that the UK ambassador had been summoned to its foreign ministry following “the illegal seizure of an Iranian oil tanker”.

Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar’s chief minister, thanked the efforts of the “brave men and women” from the marines and the local agencies involved in the operation, and confirmed Grace 1 had been detained.

“This action arose from information giving the Gibraltar government reasonable grounds to believe that the vessel, the Grace 1, was acting in breach of EU sanctions against Syria,” he said.

“In fact, we have reason to believe that the Grace 1 was carrying its shipment of crude oil to the Banyas refinery in Syria.”

Marines from 42 Commando were involved in the overnight seizure, with some landing on the ship’s deck by rapidly descending down ropes suspended from a Wildcat helicopter, and the rest following up via speedboat.

Ministry of Defence sources said British troops were at all times acting under the direction of the Gibraltar police. The marines provided the technical expertise to allow the vessel to be boarded at sea.


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A view of Grace 1 in Gibraltar. Syria is subject to EU sanctions due to the war in the country. Photograph: Marcos Moreno/AP
Spain’s acting foreign minister, Josep Borrell, said Madrid was looking into the seizure and how it may affect Spanish sovereignty. Spain does not recognise the waters around Gibraltar as British.

Grace 1 was travelling east through the strait of Gibraltar. Tracking data from Lloyd’s List, a specialist shipping website, showed it had begun its voyage in Iran, travelling around Africa, before it passed through Gibraltarian territorial waters. Analysts believe it is carrying just over 2m barrels of Iranian crude oil.

Mapping data showed it sailed a longer route to the mouth of the Mediterranean, around the southern tip of Africa, instead of via the Suez Canal in Egypt.


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A Royal Marines vessel heads towards the Grace 1 supertanker near Gibraltar. Photograph: Marcos Moreno/AP
Lloyd’s List reported Grace 1 had “a complex ownership chain” and was controlled by Russian Titan Shipping, a subsidiary of TNC Gulf, a Dubai-based shipping company. Executives connected with both companies hold Iranian university and technical qualifications, or list their names in Farsi.

The 28 members of the ship’s crew were being questioned onboard by Gibraltarian authorities. They were mostly Indian nationals but there were also some Ukrainians and Pakistanis, the territory’s government said.

The EU has imposed a series of economic sanctions on Assad’s regime in Syria in response to the country’s civil war. The Foreign Office said: “We welcome this firm action by the Gibraltarian authorities, acting to enforce the EU Syria sanctions regime.”

But the action also comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and Iran, as the agreement aimed at halting Tehran’s nuclear programmeunravels.

Iran has been accused of sabotaging oil tankers in the strait of Hormuz, a policy of brinkmanship that analysts say is designed to show the US there is an economic cost to the Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the nuclear deal and impose economic sanctions.

Picardo said: “I want to thank the brave men and women of the Royal Marines, the Royal Gibraltar police, HM Customs Gibraltar and the Gibraltar port authority for their work in securing the detention of this vessel and its cargo. Be assured that Gibraltar remains safe, secure and committed to the international rules-based legal order.”
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Iran seized British oil tanker with 23 staffs on board. Iranian security forces entered two British ships and released one and took the other to Iranian port


IRGC said that they warned the released ship about "environmental concerns" and took other in coustody for "violateing international maritime law"

Iran is trolling..😂😂😂

Iran seizes British tanker in Strait of Hormuz
 
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NATO naval blockade of Iran until ship and crew are released. Nothing comes in or out.
 
_Anonymous_ said:
Oh my my!! Time to dispatch the old hag QE -2. No. Don't be silly.Not your regent, Paddy. Her namesake the Aircraft Carrier along with a flotilla of warships or whatever remains & is still floating after debilitating defence budget cuts.
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Typical of _Anonymous_, thinks it's a joke until he realises that most of the crew is Indian.
 
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